After the Phillies were rebuffed once again by Alex Cora, the club could keep its managerial decision in-house. Matt Gelb and Jayson Stark of The Athletic report that interim manager Don Mattingly could retain the position next season.

Mattingly engineered a major turnaround in Philadelphia after a slow start to the year. The team carried a 9-19 record over the first month of the season and fired manager Rob Thomson at the end of April. Mattingly, who’d been hired as a bench coach, assumed the skipper position. The Phillies were 24 games over .500 after Mattingly took over.

[Related: Alex Cora Informs Phillies He Doesn’t Plan To Manage In 2027]

Philadelphia didn’t remove the interim tag from Mattingly’s title at any point during the year. A gut-wrenching final week of the season, plus a quick playoff exit, tarnished his work at the helm. The Phillies nearly coughed up a playoff spot with four straight losses in late September. They avoided a collapse by winning on the final day of the season. Mattingly had to use ace Zack Wheeler in a must-win spot, leaving the rotation depleted in the Wild Card round. Atlanta knocked them out in three games.

Mattingly will be with the organization one way or another next season. He’s signed through 2027. Gelb and Stark note that Mattingly could step into a front-office advisor role if he isn’t named the manager. His son, Preston, is Philadelphia’s general manager. Bumping Mattingly back to a bench coach position and bringing in a new manager could create an awkward dynamic in the dugout.

Philadelphia enters the offseason with plenty of question marks. Sorting out the managerial vacancy is at the top of the list, but there are other considerations. An aging, expensive lineup just finished 19th in scoring. The reliable bullpen options behind closer Jhoan Duran dwindled late in the year. It should be an interesting winter for the Phillies.

Photo courtesy of Brett Davis, Imagn Images